A bit of an update (with the usual YT production values; at least mixup98 is a gun guy).
Winchester 1873 Rifle Found In Nevada - What Happened To It?" [YouTube posted by mixup98]
Posted on 01/16/2015 12:31:29 PM PST by Phillyred
D. B. Cooper’s rifle?
It looks like part of a horse bridle hanging right by the rifle......I think I see a snaffle bit ant part of a rein or halter lead. The bear got ol’ Harvey AND his ride!
The weathered stock is the best indication of how long it has been outside. It looks like is has been exposed to the elements for a very long time. The metal parts look the same, weathered to a patina rust.
This gun looks much the same as many wooden and/or metal things I've come across hiking in the deserts of the west where I grew up and lived for four decades. This is a believable find.
A bit of an update (with the usual YT production values; at least mixup98 is a gun guy).
Winchester 1873 Rifle Found In Nevada - What Happened To It?" [YouTube posted by mixup98]
If that rifle is 132 years old, then all “1911” guns are 107 years old. Got it.
I don’t remember if it was a ‘73, specifically, but a widow had brought an older model lever gun into a local gun dealer to check on its’ value. She spruced it up a bit, first, sanding off the “funny colors”...color case hardening. THAT was a crying shame.
Maybe not. Desert conditions, hot and dry. snow covered in winter. Trees grow at different rates. We’ve got stands of Port Orford cedar to the south at the highest point of elevation in the county. I’ noticed the scorch marks on the bark many times, but it toolk me awhile to ask a friend when the area burned. He said it was the late ‘’60’s. Fifty years later and they still retained burnt bark.
Here's the full list of topics, I believe I've posted the update in each one.
The upper tang "Model of 1873" stamping does indicate an early production gun - definitely pre-1900 (Winchester made them until the 1920s). Later production guns had changes to the markings, adding the Winchester name to the tang below the model number.
I guess the question is what is the serial # on the rifle.
That dates it to a production run/yr.
Disregard my Post 50 as that info is mentioned in the article.
“However a unique serial number that Winchester stamped on all their rifles enable researchers
to cross reference with records at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum in Cody, Wyoming,
to establish the weapon had been manufactured and shipped in 1882. “
The serial Number was produced in 1882 according
to records of the Winchester production list.
A live .44 cartridge was in the trapdoor stock; it was manufactured sometime between 1887 and 1911.
From the article posted....
snip
However a unique serial number that Winchester stamped on all
their rifles enable researchers to cross reference with records
at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum in Cody, Wyoming,
to establish the weapon had been manufactured and shipped in 1882.
None of which helps much to determine when the rifle was left there, except some time after 1887. If they could determine who the rifle was sold to and if he disappeared up in the hills...
Thanks. But I haven’t been talking about when it was left at
the tree. I was only referencing the age of the rifle.
Fair enough. There was a side discussion about how long it might have actually been leaning against the tree. I wasn’t paying attention to who was in which vein. :)
Yes, I missed that vital clue. Sorry. But my underlying point was that there are plenty of clueless people out there who really do equate the model date with the manufacture date.
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